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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. last — finally
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wind — moving air
  5. race — a contest
  6. spell — letters
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stock — shares
  15. last — final
  16. spell — magic
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. stock — goods
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. wound — an injury
  21. last — to go on
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fork — in a road
  24. race — humankind

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com